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Pagan/Heathen Origins of Swabian Fastnacht Celebrations

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By Sean Jobst 23 February 2023 The various pictures here are public photos of Fastnacht celebrations. So my Gratitude towards each photographer.    I used to ask my late Oma about our paternal ancestors and their traditions, collecting all the information I could no matter how small (even daily habits). I felt the importance of Ancestors, knowing we each come from a continuous line of successive generations who made us the individuals we are. Not just the gift of life our Ancestors gave to us – for we are alive exactly because of their choices, love, and overcoming challenges – but even in the subtle qualities we may not even be conscious about. We should cultivate that Gratitude to truly know ourselves. The health and psychological benefits of a relationship with one’s Ancestors is well-known – and second nature to we who reclaim its spiritual implications.    My great-grandparents and Oma were from Bad Cannstatt, now a part of Stuttgart that I personally visi...
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The Importance of Animism in Swabian Paganism

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By Sean Jobst 23 February 2023 A beautiful painting by the Japanese-American artist Kinuko Craft, to  me a perfect illustration of Animism with Nature's interactive powers.    It’s been over a year since I last posted  on this blog, continuing my series about the Wild Hunt. Among my endeavors since this time has been developing a deeper, spiritual grounding in Animism and Natural Law. These are not specific to Swabian Paganism, but a worldview shared in common by all tribal peoples – including the Suebi and Alemanni. We are not reclaiming a “lost” tradition but a dynamic, living tradition centered around the Divinity imbued throughout all Nature – that everything has a spirit and consciousness. This led to a series on my general focus blog called “Animism and Lessons of Earth’s Power”, my philosophical (making sense of my experience ) Manifesto on Animism: Part 1 : Animism Defined and Discerned from Biophobic Doomsday Narratives Part 2 : Roots of Disconnect ...
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The Wild Hunt: Symbolisms, Meanings, and Folklore (Part 4)

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Part 4: Krampus, Perchtenlauf, Warrior Initiations, Werewolf and Other Shamanic Symbolisms by Sean Jobst 4 January 2022 "Die Wilde Jagd" (1856-1857) by the German landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Cordes    After nearly a year, I resume my Wild Hunt series which generally ties in with other themes of folklore, mythology, and spirituality. I ended  Part 3  with some insights from Carl Jung on the Wild Hunt and fairy-tales like the Pied-Piper of Hamelin as allegories for "ecstasy" and "going berserk" that connected to Wotan. He connected that fairy-tale to Wotan as the "unleasher of frenzy and passions" ( Entfeßler von Rausch und Leidenschaften ), whose "essence is ecstasy" ( Sein Wesen ist Ekstase )(Jung, 75). We now know from anthropologists and folklorists that fairy tales have  ancient origins  going back thousands of years, so its only natural they preserve those traditions.     Such is the Wild Hunt, whose furious sounds and supernat...
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The Wild Hunt: Symbolisms, Meanings, and Folklore (Part 3)

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Part 3: Wotan as archetypal leader of the Wild Hunt; folkloric figures relating to him by Sean Jobst 26 January 2021 1896 work by Swabian painter Hans Thoma (1839-1924), which formed the costume design for Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen"    In the previous post , I examined the qualities of Frau Holle or Perchta as leader of the Wild Hunt. Yet other traditions cite the Germanic god Wodan as the One who leads the Wild Hunt. This is not surprising given that Holle/Perchta seems to be the same as his wife, Frija - the different names depending on the region and time period (much like Wodan gradually became known as Wotan due to developments in the German language) . Their roles would be complementary towards each other, making the Wild Hunt a balance of the masculine and feminine power forces that exist within Nature. "Not only Wuotan and other gods, but heathen goddesses too, may head the furious host: the wild hunter passes into the wood-wife, Woden into frau Gaude...
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